Negatives:
– Debris and fallen leaves and twigs make it look grodie in a few years
– They sink into the soil and you have to add more stones to maintain the look over time
– Weed grows through anyways
– Compacts the soil
– Provides no nutrients
– You now have stone stuck in the soil that you have to hit with a hoe to break up the dirt and pry it out by hand if you want it gone
What it does do, it does not do better than organic mulch
OK excuse me as I cry while I go pry out a thousand more stones from the hard dirt
by lettuceown
37 Comments
I agree! I shoveled my entire back yard by hand getting rid of all the landscaping rock.. I decided I need to hire someone else to do the front yard
I put it around my air conditioner where I can’t grow plants and didn’t want to pave or put DG. I also put a narrow band of it up against the stucco walls of the house so mud wouldn’t splash onto the wall.
However, I do agree that a living ground cover is the best way to go in most areas.
The only place I am happy I have them is along the sides of the shed. The rain falling off the shed’s roof was digging a trench, so I used them to break that. I also used to have them along the edge of some flower beds, but after a few years the mud covered them and they are now hidden. I can’t be bothered to remove them since the flower beds also have proper edging and the stones are on the inside.
The lizards in my yard really seem to enjoy them. Great spots for them to sun and burrow under. I tend to go for patches of bigger rocks rather than the pebble field, so maybe this isn’t what you are getting at, but still…love me some rocks in my garden. I feel like every bed needs at least a few good rocks if for no other reason than habitat for critters!
Well for one, it discourages the dogs from digging up the bod—I MEAN YOUR PLANTS… uh heh hmm ^nothing^nevermind
Take them and make a gabion wall. 💀
depending on how the soil is where you live stones in the soil can give the stones something to “grab on to” by growing around them and they leach essential minerals into the soil (trace-elements like iron,silica etc) due to weathering. the slowest of the slow release fertilizers
for the ones on the soil…bury them somewhere? or use them in walk/driveways to give traction
I don’t like gravel beds as pictured but rock walls/borders and cairns are great habitat for skinks and beneficial bugs
Previous owners of my cottage wanted that “no maintenance” rock scape. This past year I’ve finally had enough of it and started reconfiguring the rock to be just an edging instead of entire potential planting areas. The last place I addressed was the worst. In their ambition to stop all the plants, they buried 4 inches of basement window casing with rock. Pebble by pebble I sifted that sand and rock combo until I finally revealed the full window. I now have a mountain of garden rock I have mined The real pain of it all, is now I should grade the extending area to match with the new lowered level of the ground.
The cool thing is, now I have a helluva lot more area to plant cool stuff.
I have neighbors who decided to “mulch” around the base of their trees with stones. My only thought is that clearly, they want to kill the trees.
They do serve a purpose in many areas. Especially controlling erosion like next to a house where water is expected to drip.
Or where water will settle.
But just as a broad statement I agree with you. I don’t like it as a general groundcover
I have it for lizards
They don’t need watering.
I love rocks of all sizes. You can’t just throw them on top of a bed of mud though or you are asking for a headache. Usually they go over sand or landscaping fabric. Depending on the area you are in they can make excellent mulch and they help retain water. So the southwest is a great place for rock mulch. I have them in the northeast on a pathway where my hose is. I use a leaf blower (electric) to clean them up after leaves have fallen.
Some big rocks I like but I agree with pebble fields. We have one rock path and it’s a slight inconvenience to keep maintained.
We also have a “secret” rock field that was unknown to me until I started planting. Previous owners must have had rocks that they didn’t like in the garden bed but instead of removing them they put landscape fabric over it and covered it with mulch.. we pulled the fabric and put some fresh mulch, but that’s about all I’m dealing with for now.
It’s the fashion here in the Netherlands too. Pro: they let through the rain, of which we have plenty. Con: maintenance free? Not so much. Apart from that, more and more front gardens look like cremation facilities. Yuk.
I like rocks in and around my garden pond. I also have a small rocky area adjacent to the pond for an alpine plant garden (edelweiss, enzian and so on). I like those rocks a lot.
Only crush stone great for the plants
I hear your pain…in large scale placement, they are definitely a commitment.
You have to put a geotextile for the mud not goes up and swallow your rock. I’m using rocks in a country with rainy season and storms and I’ve 0 muds after 2 years. I remove weed weekly, less than 2mins. During summer weed just die by themselves.
I’d love to have all rocks instead of the shredded rubber mulch the previous owners put in.
When soil dries out it releases carbon into the air which is awful for the environment. In spaces with that don’t get a lot of light or where root growth would be detrimental to nearby structures, or wear water accumulates, rock is an environmentally friendly option for a “permanent” low maintenance ground cover.
You are supposed to lay the stones over thick weed barrier fabric, and you have to rake leaves off or they will just become more earth for weeds to grow in. Even rocks aren’t maintenance-free. Why is it a problem for the soil to be compacted under rocks, though?
Maintenance on rocks are easier though, just grab a torch and roast every thing two or three times a year.
I put them on a walking path in my natural-style backyard. In the winter, the chickens make it really muddy otherwise. And there’s nothing chickens like to dig in better than mulch. Rocks discourage them from digging even after they sink into the soil.
We don’t give af here in New England lmao. The rocks are here anyways.
Wanna dig a fence or plant a tree? Good chance of there being 1 or more large rocks in the hole.
Even in my own yard there are several rocks so large they don’t even vibrate when struck with a hammer and they only have their peaks poking out of the ground.
While I mostly agree with you, there are some uses. We had drainage issues in our backyard and a dry river bed made up of river rocks was the perfect solution. Takes care of the issue and looks great in the landscaping. Yes it is a pain to weed, but it isn’t terrible.
In fire prone areas rock is very useful as a fire break near homes. Many people inadvertently create a ladder straight up to their eaves by plantings and mulch right up to a wooden fence line. Mulch, to plant, to fence, to structure, fire climbs right up the side of the house into the eaves where it is hard to put out before very significant damage. A rock break can keep sparks from igniting more material.
And rock beds should have landscape fabric underneath (permeable wovens not non-woven heat bonded cheap stuff that falls apart after a year our two making a huge unsightly mess) otherwise they suffer all you note.
Rocks are also great for swales to direct water away from homes and other structures.
Rock absolutely has a place in landscape design if done thoughtfully.
Nothing like the internet to come to the defence of something a person says they don’t like haha.
Rocks certainly have a utilitarian purpose for places that won’t grow plants (under eaves, dog kennels, deserts).
In places where plants want to grow it is indeed a pain in the butt, I see people put in rock mulch where I live all the time. Debris from trees and grass and weeds collects on top and turns to soil, then more weeds start to grow. In summer the rocks hold in the heat and fry plants (not the weeds of course, just things you like).
I have rocks in my rock garden, but of course it’s not all rocks and plants growing around them is sort of the idea. It’s not a showcase of rocks, it’s a showcase of small plants that like growing in rocks. I removed the old owners rock mulch in one part of the yard and replaced with drought tolerant ground covers, so much easier to weed. Such a pain to remove in the first place.
A very important reason to have rocks that I haven’t seen yet:
Tick deterrent
Dependent on where you live, of course, but in Northeast US here and Lyme-carrying ticks are rampant. We have them along wooded areas of our yard to prevent infestation in living areas.
I’m not going to put organic mulch against my house, I prefer stone. If you want to keep them from sinking you need to put some proper landscaping fabric under it. I dont recall exactly what kind of the top of my head. This stone “landscaping” is no different than others when it comes to “weeding” it. Fortunately its very easy to remove, you have to stay on top of weeds and debris just like any other landscaping bed. For leaves etc, I just hit it with a leaf blower in a downward circular motion.
I understand your frustration but this is why we do things the right way the first time.
My rock garden is my favorite feature of my yard
https://preview.redd.it/blk9bzti4f3g1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c6c83a36e59bc237fe60217a2840feab7e9d56f
I’d recommend redoing the rock. You need to dig it up, clean them, remove the weeds, put down weed killer, let all the weeds die, put down new weed fabric and put the rocks back on top. If you put the rock onto weed fabric it won’t sink into the ground, and if you don’t cheap out on the weed fabric they won’t poke back through. Rock unfortunately does require maintenance but if you put in the effort to do it right it can look great.
To maintain the rock and keep it from sodding over you need to get a leaf blower or mulched and go over it every fall after the leaves are down. Rock gets like this but it uses less water than grass and is more eco friendly since you don’t need to fertilize anything.
Stone isn’t meant to do the same thing as mulch. If you’re using stone for mulch, you’re using it wrong.
It’s meant to be a durable, firm surface that will stand up to traffic, while looking more natural than asphalt, concrete, pavers, bluestone, etc.
Like any other material, it needs maintenance in order to keep looking pristine outdoors. You have to break up last year’s mulch and top it up with fresh this year, and you’ll have to blow, rake, and/or sift your stone periodically too. Different maintenance programs, but still maintenance.
If your stone is sinking into the soil that quickly, it seems you have underlying drainage and/or permeability issues that you need to solve, and you should consider using geotextile fabric to keep the layers separated.
I have half a backyard covered like pic 1. Previous home owner put them there and can confirm they have just filled with enough debris to grow weeds constantly. So I spend all season pulling weeds so my rocks look “good”
Currently In the process of shoveling them all out
I have grown romaine lettuce in my rocks that are similar in size to those.
Rocks have their place, but for me a bark mulch is easier to deal with. They do good at smothering, but when something eventually grows through (and it always will) it’s easier to deal with it with either another layer or weeding.